we have relationships to develop information so we know when someone is in trouble, so we know when someone is struggling, and we know they are threatening to do something because we have the evidence of it and it is typically the school resource officer who develops that relationship and gets that information and stops that event. it happens every day. because nothing happened, it does not make the news. i want to stress the atf needs a director in place as soon as possible. [applause] that post has not been vacant. amendments and they need to be

[applause] all across the country, law enforcement and the public are calling upon congress to strengthen our nation's laws. i ask you he our call and enact these sensible measures that will prevent further bloodshed. thank you. [applause] >> thank you all very much for what has been a most extraordinary, a powerful testimony. and prescriptions for us to take back and thank you for giving us the strength and the resolve to help make these changes. we cannot do it without you. i think you know we hope you know we are with you in trying to make these changes. we are now going to move to

questions. i will introduce my colleague, mike thompson. a member of one of his vice chairs on the violence committee. we will have a one minute question and that will be when we get to dealing with our members. >> thank you. it gives me great pleasure to introduce one of the vice chairs on the task force to prevent violence. an expert in juvenile justice. our colleague from california in juvenile justice, and our and gentleman from virginia. mr. bobby scott. already had recommendations

from the president and the vice president. we will have additional recommendations. we know we will have a serious response to the tragedy in newtown. we also have to make recommendations to address violence generally. that must be done with a comprehensive approach. a doctor who is a forensics colleges frequently reminds us that if you're prevention plan begins when the shooter is that the door, it is too late. the youth promise act seeks to replace the cradle to prison pipeline. the attorney general, blue- ribbon commission report on how to reduce problems associated with children exposed to silence was published a few months ago. it focuses on prevention and early intervention and uses the

phrase, evidence-based on virtually every page. it urges us to follow evidence and research and avoid slogans and feel good approaches that are not effective. we can have confidence that our recommendations can make a difference and our children across the nation will be protected. >> i would like to recognize, standup, those associated with the virginia tech tragedy. [applause] >> thank you. what we will do now is, first of all, this has been an outpouring of member support for this effort.

we have had over 60 members of the house of representatives here. we are not in session. there are no votes. members stay because of their view of the importance of this issue. this is how we handle the questions because there are so many. we continue to recognize members in the order they come in. we are going to ask members in batches of five. ask one questions each. you have one minute to ask your question, then we will have the panel handle those. what we would like to do is do this in a 10 minute block of time so we can get around to as many questions as we can.

the first grouping of questions -- >>i want to join you in saluting the panel today. a call to action. i know the mayor has to get back to work in philadelphia. if you have to slip out, we understand. [applause] >> i will ask the following five members to kick it off. the representative from new jersey, the representative from florida, the representative from new york, and the representative from oregon.

>> thank you very much. my question is probably a broad one and widespread. and probably directed to the mayor and the chief of police. with all of the budgetary restraints we suffer throughout this country, certainly here, do you think you can have an effective program without federal funding? >> no. >> we will take all five questions at one time. [laughter] >> thank you for this. they make one cry and they should make one angry and outraged and determined and committed. why is america so different candy statistics you gave us?

-- in the statistics you gave us? >>it is not that we have so much more mental illness or less health care than other countries or fewer armed police or more defenseless students. it is not only american youth who play violent video games. it is not that we have so little information about bad guys. and yet, we have so many more gun deaths. what are the major distractions in these arguments that we have to guard ourselves against? over the decades, we have been distracted from actually confronting the problem. >> thank you. thank you panelists for your moving testimony. my home state of oregon is one of the few states that requires universal background checks for all firearms sales. the recent shooting at the town center shopping mall, the

shooter killed two before turning the gun on himself. he stole his assault rifle. the newtown shooter used weapons owned by his mother. what other steps can we take? how else can we address the situation that is not addressed by universal background checks? >> thank you. we had an entire police force at virginia tech. what i would like to principally focus on, being from virginia, invariably the nra says philadelphia and d.c. and other major cities have the tougher gun laws but look at all the gun crime.

virginia is one of the major problems. what happens, even though the governor passed a law limiting handgun to one gun a month, they then reversed it. now, people will go in, and whether it is a gun show or whatever, they will buy cases of guns, transport them up 95, and find a convenient urban street quarter, open up the truck, and sell the guns. i would like the mayor to address that phenomenon and why it's a man's federal legislation. -- why it demands federal legislation. thank you. >> one minute, then i will ask the mayor to answer the question first because he will have to leave. >> thank you. thank you for your presence here and your testimony. i represent flint michigan. over the last few years, one in every 540 residents have been slain.

an amazing statistic. i talked to our prosecutor today. his concern is that the guns he sees in the streets are held by teenagers, and not a single one of them acquired legally. i suppose i would ask the chief specifically to comment on what federal support, local police chief, particularly places that have precious few local resources available, what federal support would be most helpful in dealing with this problem? >> i will try to be quick. thank you for your accommodations with regard to my schedule and the opportunity. congresswoman johnson, you asked a question with regard to, can we really -- we do what we

do with what we have. as part of my testimony, i talked about dealing with these issues at the federal level. in the aftermath of 9/11, the united states said we will do whatever it takes to make sure we are safe. what i want is someone to say we will do whatever it takes walking. i want to be safe in my neighborhood. i want my children to go to school. i want the same response to international terrorism to domestic terrorism icy on a regular basis. funding, personnel, equipment, support, technology. a focus on regular basis that domestic terrorism is as important as international terrorism. you almost have to take all of your clothes off to get in an airplane. one guy had a bomb in his shoe, and yet all of us take off our shoes to get on the airplane.

that is fine. i want to be safe. we cannot do what we need to do without serious focused federal support. that is what the idea is out. a 9/11 commission told us what we need to be doing to be safe in the air. we need that same kind of response on the ground. that is one answered. congressman, to your question, i think one of the reasons, i do not think americans are not that much more prone to violence. but when you have almost as many guns as you have people in this country, invariably, they end up in the hands of folks who should not have them. . tried to pass them in philadelphia and we did get this one by. the simple idea that you had to

report your weapon, lost or stolen, if you want to make a claim about your car to the insurance company, you have to report it stolen. back in 2008, one of the proudest moments of my entire political career. [laughter] [applause] it is a distraction. we have to be prepared to fight back, in many of the similar ways. they have done their best to gut and under fund, through congress, not confirmed a director, taken away the ability to accumulate information for law-enforcement purposes. if you will solve a problem, you need to know what problem and data information. they have taken every possible step to block that agency or anyone else.

we can put a person on the moon but i cannot assure that you will be safe walking around the corner. we need data and information. gunlocks. and lockers. in connecticut, the person took his mother's weapons. one of the proposals out of what i released yesterday, the sandy hook principles. when you walk into a video store or an electronics store, you buy a dvd player, they immediately offer you the two- year warranty. when you walk into a gun store, after the background check, which everyone should go to, they should also offer you a gun law. -- a gun lockor ask if you have a gun locker in your house or business where this will be stored? that should be a part of the sale. that is the only person who

should be able to get access to that weapon. we know the technology exists. you can make guns in such a way that only the legitimate owner and operator can operate at a weapon. that would cut down tremendously on the fact that, in my city and many others, you can rent guns across the city. you walk in and they sell you an array of weapons. you put your weapon. you put your money down. you do whatever it is you do and you bring it back. they know who you are. guns circulate. they are already there. we in pennsylvania have of the weaker laws. in place that you have tougher laws, they may be crazy, but they are not totally stupid. they go across the county lines and bring them back and engage in activities.

that is why we need federal legislation covering the entire united states. that is what we need. the people involved in that particular business and the many instances, it could be a spouse, a girlfriend, or fund, whatever the case may be. the person knows they cannot buy weapons themselves. that person is engaged in criminal activity and they should have the hammer come down on them as well. you need sentences for people who walk around with unlicensed weapons. if you look to new york and commend the governor for what he did yesterday, new york city, a few years ago, walking around with his own weapon, unlicensed, shot himself in the leg. no one seems to care whether or not they have them or not.

he did two years in prison. those are illegal guns and they should not be on our streets and we should step up law enforcement activity and snatch those illegal guns off the streets of america. somehow the government is going to do something that causes everyone to be armed, that we are marching down the street, coming after guns, is a whole lot of nonsense. the people who are not dealing in the reality of what i and achieve and what many other states on a daily basis. we have real jobs, with real responsibilities, trying to make folks say. -- our folks say. we need to have a serious conversation about these issues. thank you. >> thank you very much, mayor.

[applause] our next group, we asked people try to hear, the first is ms. barbara lee from california. when you are responding to this group, if you would like to comment on the earlier questions, please feel free. >> thank you. my heartfelt condolences go to the families of your loved ones and to the entire newtown community. i am from oakland california. our thoughts and prayers are to you. 15 of my constituents were shot last week.

could you please give us an idea of what cities and police officers and mares confront in terms of daily gun violence? >> i want to add my appreciation for the incredibly touching and courageous remarks today. i can tell you i have renewed resolve because of your courage and dedication and compassion and i recognize this is the day to commit, from this day forward, that we need comprehensive federal reform so we are doing something meaningful about the gun violence in this country. i come from the district in new mexico where we have significant gun violence and tragedy. many of the questions i would have asked have been asked. a new question. in the aftermath of this incredible tragedy in newtown, and i want to make sure i

recognize, what can we do in congress today to help the healing of newtown? >> thank you. >> thank you, my condolences. also to the representatives from the virginia shooting. my sincere condolences. we live in a culture of violence. the question is, how do we change from a culture of violence into a culture of education and a culture of peacefulness? it takes money. we here in congress have that ability. preventing mass shootings by way of banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, certainly something we should

do. we need to get at the issue of violence that affects us with respect to handguns used primarily in inner-city areas to kill people. i am not advocating for a ban on handguns. do not get me wrong. i will say we need to address the issue of violence in our culture. i would like to know what kinds of resources are available to help students and help people in the community, adults, who have an emotional or mental disorders and whether or not we need to put more resources into that area. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. thank you for being here for your amazing testimony. i want to follow up on the mental health question as well. i do not know if you could identify.

immediate steps cities and schools can take to identify -- there is no other place for them to go. many people who could benefit from treatment are incarcerated and on the other hand, california has had a civil commitment standard procedure for involuntary commitments and i wonder whether you think that is an important thing to look at as we look at options. david? -- david scott. >> thank you. dr. robinson, i would like to direct this question to you. the national rifle association has said the best way in response to what happened at your school in newtown was to arm teachers. how would you respond to the nra on that? and why you feel strongly that

a large part of the answer to this is to deal with these weapons of mass destruction, high capacity weapons. >> thank you for your patience. if you would like to comment on something -- >> i would like to go to dr. robinson. >> is a sensitive question. we realize now in the midst of this and looking back, there are phases dealing with this trauma. this is a start of a recovery. it is still painful. mental health is a big piece.

part of what i have come to realize is when you lost your whole sense of safety, you start to look for things that are concrete and give you visible signs of safety. parents are looking to see police are out there and in the building. parents are demanding their be fro's in all of our elementary schools. people seem to need that. some of my teachers are saying they need escape ladders in the room. they need to have the door changed. they need to have new locks. they are creating a list of things they think they need to have to feel safe because they have lost their personal sense of safety. congress could take a real critical look at the unique situations that happen. the mental health support is very necessary.

i think my people need support for a long time. i do not think when these people go away, they start talking about a transition plan and i say, stop. we cannot talk transition. we are not there. we need more long-term kind of support when a traumatic incident occurs. that is mental health and there are visible signs of security so we can keep going. my dad was career military. my husband was a navy pilot. we do not keep guns.

i have great respect for guns. my dad used to teach me how to shoot. i have great respect. if you remember what the chief said, it is to take the great deal of training for a police officer to shoot a weapon in action. teachers are teachers. if you think about elementary school teachers, they love kids. they are not going to sit on the floor and read to the kids with a gun at their head. there was a very insensitive individual who immediately after this made some claim that if don had just had a weapon in her desk, she could have taken care of it. she was not at her desk and no good principle is. how many little kids can get injured with inexperienced elementary school teachers

walking around with guns? it is not even logical. my people tell me they need to see right now. they need to see armed policeman. i think it is that loss of security that is important. your third party question had to do with high capacity. he shot every one of these kids 3 to 11 times. that was not necessary. all that ammunition, maybe dawn and the people coming out could have stopped him. that is the death of my feeling.

they were determined. they did not have a chance with a semi of what a weapon. -- a semi automatic weapon. >> vice president joe biden will join michael nutter today at 12:30 eastern here on c-span. at 6:30 p.m., tablas smileys posted for on -- - tavis smiley posts a forum on poverty. we will bring it to you live here on c-span. >> he had been talking about this dream that he had. he talked about it for years -- the american dream and it becomes his dream and he had been in detroit just a few months before and he had talked about "i have a dream that

america will someday realize these principles in the declaration of independence." i think he was just inspired by that moment. >> sunday, the journey of clayborne carson. it is part of three days of book-tv this weekend, monday featuring authors and books on the inauguration. >> president obama officials launched his effort to reduce gun violence wednesday calling for action in congress and signing 23 executive orders to deal with the issue. speaking before an audience that included the families of those killed last month newtown connecticut shooting, the president specifically called for an assault weapons ban, a better background checks, plus more funding for police and

mental health services. this is 25 minutes. ladies and gentleman, the president and vice president of the united states. please be seated, thank you. before i begin today, let me say to the families of the innocents who were murdered, our hearts go

out to you and you show incredible courage, incredible courage being here and the president and i will do everything in our power to honor the memory of your children and your wives with the work we take up here today. >> it has been 33 days is the nation's heart with broken by the senseless violence that took place at sandy hook elementary school. 20 beautiful first graders gunned down in a place that is supposed to be their second sanctuary. six members of the staff killed trying to save those children. it has literally been hard for the nation to comprehend. i know for the families who are here that time is not measured in days, but in minutes, in seconds. another minute without your

daughter, another minute without your son, another minute without your wife or without your mom. i want to thank chris macdonald, who lost his beautiful daughter, grace, and the other parents who i had the chance to speak to for their suggestions, and for their courage of all of you to be here today. " i admire the grace and resolve you all are showing. and i must say, i've been deeply affected by your faith as well. the president and i will do everything we can to try to match the result you have demonstrated. -- of the result you have demonstrated. -- the resolve you have

demonstrated. no one can know for certain if this senseless act could have been prevented. but we all know we have a moral obligation to everything in our power to diminish the prospect that something like this could happen again. as the president knows, i have worked a long time in the u.s. senate having chaired a committee that overlooked these issues of guns and crime, and having drafted the first gun violence legislation -- the last gun violence legislation, i should say. i have no illusions about what we are against or how hard the task is in front of us. but i have also never seen the nation's conscience so shaken by what happened at sandy hook. the world has changed and is demanding action. it is in this context that the president asked me to put together, along with cabinet members, he set of recommendations about how to proceed to meet that obligation that we have. and to that end, the cabinet members and i sat down with 229 groups, not just individuals, representatives from two hundred 29 groups from law-

enforcement agencies to public health officials to gone officials to -- to gun the officials and public advocacy groups to sportsmen and hunters and religious leaders. and i have spoken with members aisle. i had extensive conversations county officials. the recommendation that we provided to the president on monday called for executive action. there is legislation he could call for and long term research he could take. -- that should be undertaken. it is based on emerging consensus that we heard from all of the groups, including some of you who are the victims of this god awful occurrence. ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands as well as ways to take comprehensive action to prevent violence in the first place. we should do as much as we can and we cannot let it be be the enemy of the good. -- we cannot let the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

we stand resolve to continue this fight. during the meetings we held,we met with a young man, calling doddered. colin goddard is here. where are you? he was one of the survivors of the virginia tech massacre. he calls himself one of the lucky seven. he will tell you that he was shot four times on that day. he has three bullets that are still inside him. when i asked him about what he thought we should be doing, he said, i'm not here because of what happened to me. i'm here because what happened to me keeps happening to other people. it. and we will. i promise you, we will. this is our intent, we must do what we can now. there's no person who is more committed to acting on its

moral obligation that we have than the president of the united states of america. ladies and gentlemen, president barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. it thank you, everybody. please come have a seat. good afternoon, everybody. let me begin by thanking our vice-president, joe biden. and for your dedication, joe, to this issue, and for bringing so many voices to the table. while reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm should not be a divisive one. over the months since the tragedy in newtown we have heard from so many, and he not have effective as more than the

families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost. we are grateful to all of you who are taking the time to be here and recognizing that we honor their memories, in part by doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again. we also heard from some unexpected people. in particular, i started getting a lot of letters from kids. four of them are here today. they are representative of some of the messages i got. these are some pretty smart letters from some pretty smart young people. inna, a third grader, you can go ahead and wave. that is you. [laughter]

she wrote, i feel terrible for the parents who lost their children. i love my country and i want everybody to be happy and safe. and then grant, go ahead and wave. [laughter] grant said, i think there should be some changes. we should learn from what happened at sandy hook. i feel really bad. and then julia said -- julia, where are you? there you go. "i'm not scared for my safety. i'm scared for others. i have four brothers and sisters and i could not bear the thought of losing any of them." these are our kids. this is what they're thinking about. what we should be thinking about is our responsibility to care for them and shield them from harm. and give them the tools they need to grow up and do

everything they are capable of doing it, not just to pursue their own dreams, but to help build this country. this is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. this is how we will be judged. their voices should compel us to change. that is why last month, i asked joe to lead an effort along with members of my cabinet to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. we cannot put this off any longer. just last thursday as tv networks were covering one of joe's meetings, on this topic, news broke of another school shooting, this one in

california. in the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were finally taken from assets and the elementary, more than 900 of our fellow americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun. 900 -- in the past month. and every day we wait that number will keep growing. i am putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of joe's task force. in the days ahead, i intend to use whatever way to this office holds to make them a reality. because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of

evil, if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we have an obligation to try. i will do my part. as soon as i and finished speaking here, i will sit at that desk and signed a directive giving law enforcement, schools, mental health professionals, and the public health community some of the tools they need to help reduce gun violence. we will make it easier to keep guns out of the hands of criminals by strengthening the background check system. we will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them and develop emergency preparedness plans. we will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence even as we know is that someone with a mental

illness is far more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator. while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defunds scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence, will direct the centers for disease control to go ahead and study the best way to reduce it. congress should fund research into the fact that violent video gains have on young minds. we don't benefit from ignorance. we don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence. these are a few of the 23 executive actions i am announcing today but as important as the steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of congress. to make a real and lasting

difference, congress must act. congress must act soon. i am calling on congress to pass some very specific proposals right away. first, it is time for congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun. [applause] the law already requires licensed gun dealers to run background checks and over the last 14 years, that has kept 1.5 million of the wrong people for getting their hands on a gun but it is hard to enforce that law when as many as 40% of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check. that is not safe. that is not smart. is not fair to responsible gun buyers or sellers. if you want to buy a gun,

whether it is from a licensed dealer or a private seller, you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. this is common sense. an overwhelming majority of americans agree with us on the need for universal background checks including more than 70% of the national rifle association's members, according to one survey. there's no reason we cannot do this. second it -- congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines. [applause] that type of assault rifle used in core of, when paired with high-capacity magazines has one purpose -- to pump out as many bullets as possible as quickly as possible, to do as much damage using bullets often

designed to inflict maximum damage. that is what allowed the gunmen in aurora to shoot 70 people -- 70 people -- killing 12 -- in a matter of minutes. weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater. a majority of americans agree with us on this. by the way, so did ronald reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the second amendment who wrote to congress in 1994 urging them "-- this is ronald reagan speaking -- urging them to listen to the american public and to the law- enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military-style assault weapons. [applause] finally, congress needs to help rather than endure what enforcement as it does its job. we should get tougher on people

who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this. since congress has not confirmed the director of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms in six years, they should confirm todd jones who has been acting and i will be nominating for the post. [applause] at a time when budget cuts are forcing many communities to reduce their police force, we should put more cops back on the job and back on our streets. let me be absolutely clear -- like most americans, i believe the second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. i respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights

of hunters and sportsmen. are millions of responsible law-abiding gun owners in america who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or protection or collection. i also believe most gun owners agreed that we can respect the second amendment while keeping and irresponsible lawbreaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. i believe most of them agree that if america work harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in new town. that is what these reforms are designed to do. they are common-sense measures. they have the support of the majority of the american people. and yet doesn't -- and yet that does not mean this will be easy to enact or employment. -- or implement.

if it were, we would already have universal background checks. the ban on assault weapons would have never been allowed to expire. more of our fellow americans might still be alive celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and graduations. this will be difficult. there will be pundits and politicians and special- interest lobbyists public warning of a tyrannical, all-out assault on liberty. not because that is true but because they want to jack up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves. behind the scenes, they will do everything they can to block any common-sense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever. the only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different. this time we must do something to protect our communities and

our kids. i will put everything i've got into this and so well joe but, i tell you, the only way we can change is if the american people demand it. by the way, that does not just mean from certain parts of the country. we will need voices in those areas and those congressional districts where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important. it cannot be just the usual suspects. we have to examine ourselves and our hearts and ask ourselves what is important. this will not happen unless the american people demand it. if parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, hunters

and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if americans of every background stand up and say enough! we have suffered too much pain and have cared too much about our children to allow this to continue -- then change will come. that is what it will take. in the letter that julia wrote me, she said "i know that laws have to be passed by congress but i beg you to try very hard." [laughter] julia, i will try very hard. she is right. the most important changes we can make depend on congressional action. they need to bring these proposals up for a boat and the american people need to make sure that they do. get them on record.

ask your member of congress if they support universal background checks to keep guns out of the wrong hands. ask them if they support redoing a ban on military-style assault weapons and high- capacity magazines. if they say no, ask them why not. ask them what is more important -- doing whatever it takes to get an a great from the gun lobby that funds our campaign targeting parents some peace of mind when they dropped a child off for first grade. [applause] this is the land of the free and it always will be. as americans, we are endowed by our creator to certain inalienable rights that no man our government can take away from us. we have also long recognized, as our founders recognized,

that with rights, responsibilities. along with our freedom to live our lives as we will, comes an obligation for others to do the same. we don't live in isolation. we live in a society. a government by and for end of the people. we are responsible for each other. the right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to sikhs, in oak creek, wisconsin. the right to assemble peaceably, that right was denied shoppers in oregon and moviegoers in aurora, colorado. the most fundamental set of rights to life and liberty and pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights that were denied to college students at

virginia tech and high-schoolthe students at columbine and elementary school students in newtown and kids on street corners in chicago on too frequent basis to tolerate. all of families who have never imagined that they would lose a loved one to a bullet -- those rights are at stake. we are responsible. when i visited new town last month, i spent some private time with many families who lost children that day. one was the family of grace mcdonnell. her parents are here. grace was 7 years old was she was struck down. just a gorgeous, caring, joyful little girl. i am told she loved pink, she loved the beach, she dreamed of becoming a painter.

just before i left chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings. i hung it in my private study just off the oval office. every time i look at that painting, i think about grace. i think about the life she lived to end the life that lay ahead of her and most of all, i think about how when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now. for grace. for the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give. for the men and women in big cities and small towns of fall victim to senseless violence each and every day. for all the americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm. let's do the right thing. let's do the right thing for

them and for this country that we love so much. thank you. i'm going to sign these orders. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> did you know i was left handed? [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause] >> former senators kent conrad and judd gregg lead a discussion on debt and deficit issues like it 8:30 a.m. here on c-span 2. at 1:00 p.m. eastern, new

immigration legislation, live from the national press club on c-span 2. >> why did you write a book about your experience? >> it was an important part of history. i felt the fdic perspective should be brought to bear. there had been some other accounts of the crisis that i thought were not completely accurate, especially in terms of what we did and what i did so with the was important for a historical record to present our perspective and also, currently, for people to understand that there were different policy choices, a different policy options and disagreements and that if we want to prevent this crisis from happening again, i really felt the public themselves need to engage more in financial reform and educate themselves better and make it an issue with their elected officials. i wanted to make the book

accessible and i had recommendations to help them do that. >> the former head of the federal deposit insurance corporation on the government's role during the crisis. her book is "bull by the horns," sunday night on "q &a." >> [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [video clip] "washington journal"is next. the conversation on reducing gun violence continues. we will ask a gun owners to call in during the first hour and the round table and possible new gun laws. laws.